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Most recent of 16 deeper Triplog Reviews

Superstition Peak 5057 Loop via Hiero

Larry and I first met and hiked together two weeks ago after scrubbing orange paint off Siphon Draw, so this was our first trip on our own. It couldn't have been any more fun!

Larry has been all over the Ridgeline, but had never been to 5057 or gone up this way, so it was cool to show him this route and have him enjoy it so much. To me, it really is one of the best close-in hikes because it has it all: route finding, scrambling, AEG, no traffic (after the petroglyphs) and of course excellent views.

We took our time, enjoyed the weather and just had a great day! A great last hike for 2013!!

2013-12-30vanman

Superstition Peak 5057 Loop via Hiero

had two choices for today, this loop and bluff springs mountain summit
loaded a bunch of tracks for both and decided to do this one on the drive
first time on hierglyphics trail
the rock with water flowing part looks worthy of further exploration, but today i found the trail next to the canyon and just kept moving
didn't see the hieroglyphics or the balanced rock so a return trip is in order
the trail above the canyon is well-cairned, perhaps overly so
a nice helping of AEG with a bit of bushwhacking through overgrowth and some scrambling
there is a point where two canyons come together, and the trail first goes to the right, then up the section between, then finishes the climb on the left
at the top, i ran into three backpackers doing the ridgeline
took a right on ridgeline heading for 5057
you're not done ascending yet great views on both sides of the ridgeline where the canyon meets the trail
found the turnoff for 5057 and met two guys on the way down from the summit - think one of them was haz hikerguy, doing ridgline
those would be the only people i saw until back at the trailhead
spent a few minutes on 5057 admiring the views, taking pictures and signing the register (hikerguy was the only other signature today)
this is the third time i've been on 5057 and i've seen the spur trail leading to three sisters before
seemed like a good day to go that way
not really a trail up higher, but not difficult to walk on rock or avoid the cactus
i went out on two of them, and will have to look more closely at my track to see where i was
one has a killer dropoff
good views, and just cool to be up there
made my way back down to boulder saddle, then down carney
an unbelievable amount of globemallow on the trail, which contrasted nicely with brittlebush, and made the descent tolerable
took lost goldmine trail back to the trailhead
this got a little tedious, and i wouldn't do this exact hike again
thought about doing devils mountain's loop, but with three sisters tossed in, didn't really want to go back the same way
unfinished business in this area, as i considered turks head and the wave cave too late
hiero deserves a little more attention, too
nice day, as some high clouds and a good breeze kept it cool enough
i think i like scrambling

Wildflowersgoing with moderate as an average, but areas of abundant brittlebush
predominately brittlebush, globemallow and hedgehog flowers
substantial globemallow on carney
light amounts of lupine and other things i don't know the names of

2013-04-01trekkin_gecko

Superstition Peak 5057 Loop via Hiero

I had done Hiero up to the Ridgeline before but turned left and hiked to the highest of the three "bumps" there. So when Pam said she wanted to do Hiero to 5057 and loop down Carney, I was in since I hadn't done the Ridgeline along there to 5057.

We got an early start and enjoyed having Hiero to ourselves. In fact, we only saw one other person on the trails all day!! Hiero is a beautiful canyon and the trail is actually pretty well defined/cairned until you get way up into the scree area and even then it isn't too bad.

After reaching the Ridgeline the hike over to 5057 is really cool with all the rocks around the lower peaks. I would like to go back up and try to climb the "flat-top" west of 5057 (if that's even possible?). We didn't trust our instincts to climb up "the chute" so we wasted lots of time on the sucker trail and 80ft. over-hanging chute on the north side.

Once we got up the real chute we were set. I did a little exploring around the hoodoos, then up to the summit and time to go. We knew time was tight but it took us longer than expected to get all the way back to Boulder Saddle.

Hiking down Carney in the dark isn't something I would choose to do, but having to do it is a different story! Luckily we both had our headlamps and since I am so familiar with the trail it actually became a fun, challenging mental exercise for me. I'm sure Pam didn't think it was fun, this being her first time on the trail! I was surprised that we only lost the trail once, although I had my doubts a few times along the way when shining my light further ahead than my feet and only seeing bushes and trees in the darkness!

Seeing Jack flash his headlights from the parking lot a few times was a welcomed sight as we descended from the lower saddle. Thanks again Jack for hanging in there! Glad you got to see the group base jump off the Dacite Cliffs! But sorry you had to wait so long for us!

Pam, it was fun! Really!! I enjoyed the day and look forward to hiking with you again when you decide to do some uphill hikes!!

2012-12-12vanman

Superstition Peak 5057 Loop via Hiero

What in the was I thinking??? I must have been high....

Van has been "encouraging" me to do a Hike up Carney or do something with Peak 5057 for a bit now, so when he said he was thinking about possible Hikes for either, I started looking at options. Since I would rather do a "Loop" than an "Out and Back" and the thought of going up Carney was still really intimidating me, I chose this one.... What was I thinking??? Well, I kinda knew what I was thinking, as I have plans for the future, but GEEZ... So take someone totally intimidated by going "up" Carney, and then, go "down" Carney by Headlamp....

Amazing how much time it can take to do a little over 8 Miles. It was a friggin' huffer though and not an "easy" Trail, with the exception of "parts" of the Ridgeline and the beginning of Hieroglyphic....The Weather was gorgeous too, but it was one of those weird days. It started out pretty chilly, but I shed the gloves and earband once we got to the Petroglyphs. It stayed pretty chilly in the Shade, but once you hit the Sun and you were moving, you got warm pretty quick. But the Wind started kicking up a bit, so if you stopped, even in the Sun, it got chilly again. Seemed like we were either "donning" or "shedding" clothes all day. Almost to the point of absurd... I wore Jeans on this one, not knowing conditions on the "Trails". It probably did save me some doing that, as we were dodging Cactus quite a bit and I brushed a couple that didn't make it to my skin....

All I can say is...Thank God for a Minnesota Trail Angel and a very patient Hiking Partner...Lucky for me too, is the fact that Van knew the Route from 5057 down to Carney. It made things much easier...

If one of us had known more about one particular section of the Ridgeline, or one of us had had a GPS, we would have been slightly better off, as we lost an hour finding the Route around 5057. Such is Life and Hiking...We figured it out eventually....

I knew we were getting in trouble time wise, at the Peak, and judging from the way I felt by then, I knew I would really be in trouble by the time we got down Carney and still had 4 1/2 miles to go...So I called Jack about 3:00 from the base of 5057 and stupid me, not knowing exactly what lay ahead, I told Jack that we would be down around 5:00...I called him back an hour later and told him that it would be closer to 6:00, but he was already at the TH, messing around... We didn't hit the West Boulder Saddle until Dusk, so we ended up doing 3/4 of Carney by headlamp which slowed us even further... We finally made it down to the immense welcoming lights of Jack's Vehicle....YOU ROCK JACK!!! Jack was soooo good, patiently waiting, until I gave him a huge Hug at 7:00.... I was one hurting pumpkin by the time we reached him...He saved us from doing a literal "Death March" back to the Car. I was in such poor shape that I was even contemplating spending the Night at Carney...

I was so concerned about time, that after we descended 5057, I didn't take any more pictures. Too bad, as the Lighting, Clouds, and Air Quality provided some awesome views... I still have to figure out some bugs on how to carry that new Camera in a case. I'm not comfortable so far with how that's going and it literally slowed me down even more on this Hike. Even at the side, it's in my way when I'm scrambling or doing a steep downhill. Van finally was able to "rig" it to where it was no longer swinging forward at all, but even with that, it limited my mobility with my right arm, and was in the way in narrow spots on the Trail, so I'm back to the drawing board on this issue...

Van, thanks for Hiking with me and being incredibly patient on this Hike. Jack, thanks for not only being incredibly patient, but for also providing a Bail Out option for us on such short notice. You guys Rule!!!

Would I do this Hike again? Yes, I would, but with more Ibuprofen and Daylight Hours... It is a very Cool Hike....

2012-12-12outdoor_lover

Superstition Peak 5057 Loop via Hiero

Decided to give Hiero Canyon a first try today with plans of going to 5057. Lot was full, parked on the side of the road and there was a group of about 20 getting ready to head out so I made it from car to trail in record time! I knew it would be busy but was really surprised how busy it was, felt like Peralta! Didn't even slow down to look at the petroglyphs, just kept on going! The trail was pretty easy to follow and I quickly was way beyond the crowd and didn't see anyone else until near the top. Up on the ridgeline I immediately ran into a group of four heading east so I changed plans and decided that since I'd been to 5057 I'd head west and scout a new part of the ridgeline. Made it over the the 4780'ish peak and enjoyed the scenery with a snack. Came down and sat in the shade of the little, solo pine tree for a drink and headed back down.

I'm not sure why I didn't expect much out of this hike, but I was pleasantly surprised at how interesting this canyon is with all the formations and all the different drainages coming down through them. Pretty cool!

2012-02-25vanman

Superstition Peak 5057 Loop via Hiero

i wanted to get back into the superstitions, as it had been a while. i also needed to tear the pumpkin out of myself and bleed a little bit. taking that into account, this loop sounded perfect...and it was

hieroglyphics canyon is really cool, the trip up was my favorite part. it was sweet to be on the ridge line again. i did the fun little scramble to the top of 5057, which is spectacular. nice, serene hike down and back taking in all the wonderful views.

no route finding issues to speak of. small little patches of poppies on the way down from (boulder?) saddle and also along the lost goldmine trail

2012-02-01fricknaley

Superstition Peak 5057 Loop via Hiero

Last year I had done Hiero to the Siphon Draw, at the time I had commented on how the upper Hiero Canyon was a lot of work. It was suggested to try the balancing rock trail. So when looking for a hike today that ended up being my destination.

I hit the trail just after 7AM. When I got to the hieroglyphics I headed towards the balancing rock. First the balancing rock is really something to see. The base looks so small it's surprising it could still be standing there. The trail up to about the balancing rock level is pretty non-existing. It's mainly just bushwhacking up the draw and the sides of the draw. Above that I was happy to see the cairns start. Then suddenly there was a marking in white paint. I couldn't believe it, my first thought was that the painter needed to be tarred and feathered.

Some of this trail is really exposed, right on the edge of some pretty good cliffs. Nothing required ropes, but...

A few areas I ran into marks from the white painter that were actually very helpful and were in areas that a cairn was not possible due to the vertical nature of the rocks. So my attitude towards the painter softened a bit. One spot there was a cairn that made it look like a left was necessary, after squeezing between a couple rocks I was on this narrowest ledge. At that point I decided if this was the way up then I was going back down. Luckily after getting back before the cairn I found that the trail really went to the right, not the left. There were a few areas like this on the hike where it would be easy to get into trouble.

I was amazed to suddenly find myself on top of Superstition Peak. The views were fantastic. I then returned via the ridge line to West Boulder Saddle and to Carney Springs. Speaking of views, the ridge line has to have the best views of anywhere in the supes, simply breathtaking.

2011-12-28Mike_Fels

Superstition Peak 5057 Loop via Hiero

Took our dogs up to the ridgeline and back. A bit of a challenge getting a less than 6 month old Chiweenie (Chihuahua Dachshund mix) up this trail. I had to help him at times, and wait for him to blaze his own trail other times. The route I was showing him couldn't possibly be the path of least resistance. Overall he did a great job with his 6" legs!

2011-05-30johnlp

Superstition Peak 5057 Loop via Hiero

Not really a fan of the steep up and down hikes but this one wasn't too bad. Enjoyed the hike through Hiero canyon a lot and the trail was very easy to follow. My son worn his new boots for the first time on this hike so we had to stop a couple times for blister first-aid treatments which slowed us down a bit but we were able to make a lot of that lost time up once we got on the "level" Lost Goldmine trail. Crossed a lot of folks on the way down from WBS as they were hiking up.

2011-02-05hikerdw

Superstition Peak 5057 Loop via Hiero

Since neither one of us wanted to hike the Lost Goldmine Trail, we did this as an out and back from Hiero to the peak.

The section right after the pools was a serious bushwhack. The trail would often seem to abruptly dead end in a wall of dense brush, but if you pushed through it, you'd see the continuance on the other side. There are a lot of use trails in that area which can take you all over the place and that's a little confusing at times. Because of the vegetation, you can't see any of the cairns ahead of you and the main trail doesn't really stand out much from the various offshoots. However, on the return trip, the trail here is very obvious and easy to follow, as you are looking downhill.

The exit from this bushwhack festival is to push your way through a nearly solid wall of shrub about 20' deep and well over your head. If you couldn't see the skinny dirt trail at your feet, you'd be wondering where you went so wrong. You emerge from this green maze to leave all bushwhacking behind you and continue on much more barren terrain. This section is over mostly rock and the trail itself isn't highly visible, but the cairns are easily followed.

Arriving at the scree slope, the cairns blend in with the landscape and route finding gets a little tricky. It's quite steep, but if you take your time choosing your steps, you can find solid footing all the way up. Same goes for the trip back down and it really wasn't as difficult as I had anticipated. Here again, it's easier to see the route going down.

By the time we hit the ridgeline, what started out to be a mostly sunny, pleasantly warm day was turning into mostly cloudy and rather cool. It was looking like rain was possible, even though it wasn't in the forecast. I didn't take many photos because nothing was terribly inspiring. Moving on, this part of the ridgeline trail to the peak was quite rugged. There was a 20' chute to climb straight up and over. The peak was much further than I thought it would be and getting to the top involved some clever climbing, as well.

At the top, there was a new register in the red can with only a few names going back to April of this year, but no sign of the old one. We added ours and took a short break. Short, because it was starting to rain... no thunder, lightning or wind, just cold, light but steady rain. The rocks got very slick in a big hurry and that slowed us down some. But fortunately, the rain ended before we started the climb back down from the ridge and that went much quicker than I expected.

For all that is said and speculated about this route to or down from the ridgeline, I really didn't think it was as hard as I imagined it might be. Not to say this is an easy hike, but I'd rather go down this way than Siphon Draw... although, without trekking poles, it would have been brutal in some spots. Those things are worth their weight in gold, sometimes.